In the field of boating it is well known that boats such as canoes or kayaks are typically not provided with a means for supporting a boater's feet. In most canoes, the boater must cross his legs and place his feet under him, or place his feet in front of him with nothing to support them. In a conventional kayak, the boater is restricted to placing his feet in front of him. Without having support for the feet, any motivation the boater may impart on the boat must come from the upper torso. If support is provided for the feet, however, power may be derived through the boater's legs.
Other devices have been produced to be carried by the hull of a boat for supporting the feet of a boater. Typical of the art are those devices disclosed in the following U.S. patents:
______________________________________ U.S. Pat. No. Inventor(s) Issue Date ______________________________________ 3,982,293 O. L. Lagervall Sept. 28, 1976 4,503,799 W. E. Masters Mar. 12, 1985 4,589,365 W. E. Masters May 20, 1986 4,744,327 W. E. Masters May 17, 1988 4,942,840 W. E. Masters, et al. July 24, 1990 ______________________________________
The device disclosed by Masters ('799) in part discloses adjustable knee braces, each including a belt disposed under a seat member. The free ends of the belt are secured to each other over the seat member and the knees of the boater. The bottom of the seat member defines a plurality of grooves for receiving the belt member. In order to adjust the position of the belt member with respect to the longitude of the boat, the belt member is simply placed within a different groove. However, such a device does not assist in the support of the boater's feet.
The Lagervall ('293) device includes a pair of foot rest assemblies for securement to either side of a kayak. Each foot rest assembly includes a guide rail which slidable receives a foot rest. The position of the foot rest with respect to the guide rail is maintained using a spring biased pin received in one of a plurality of indexing receptors defined by the guide rail. However, such a device requires the adjustment of two foot rests in order to fully adjust for a particular boater. By requiring separate guide rails and foot rests, more weight is carried by the boat, and a greater amount of space within the boat is required than may otherwise be desirable. Further, it is well known that a greater number of parts required increases the expense and maintenance required.
The Masters ('365) device is a kayak in which the '293 device described above is incorporated. In the '365 device, the foot braces are carried by a runner defined by the kayak. However, this yields the same deficiencies as the '293 device as discussed.
Those devices disclosed by Masters ('840) and Masters, et al. ('327) are similar to those described above in that each is provided with two liner tracks and two corresponding foot rests. One track is secured to each side of a kayak and one foot rest is mounted to a track and is moveable along the length thereof to accommodate for taller and shorter boaters.
Other types of footrests have been provided as well. For example, some boats are provided with a bottom having deformations for supporting the feet of a boater. Thus, boaters of differing heights engage various deformations in order to support their feet. No adjustability is provided with such devices. Further, an inadequate surface cannot be provided for supporting the boater's feet without sacrificing the space within the boat.
Therefore, it is an object of this invention to provide a device for supporting the feet of a boater, the support being adjustable along the length of the boat to accommodate various boaters.
A further object of the present invention is to provide a means whereby the foot support is provided for supporting both of a boater's feet using a single device, thereby reducing the weight and space requirements.
Still another object of the present invention is to provide support for the feet of a boater whereby the support is less expensive than prior devices.
Yet another object of the present invention is to provide a foot support for boaters which may be formed integrally with a boat in order to minimize the additional weight of the foot support.